tar Wars comics have some incredible stories to tell, but it’s not always easy to know where to begin. We’re here to give you a handful of suggestions on where you might begin your comic journey.
For starters, we definitely recommend you check out our Foundational Five Comics. We consider these to be great starting points for both Canon and Legends. They serve as great entry points and are incredible stories. Now, if you’ve gone through those and want a few more suggestions, we are here to help.
This guide contains suggestions for both Canon stories and Legends stories. For those who are not familiar with the distinction, simply put, stories before 2014 are generally Legends and everything else is Canon. You can check out our guide on the issue for more information, but interestingly enough, comic books have some of the interesting edge cases such as Star Wars (1977) #108 (a Legends issue from 2019) and Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir (a miniseries some would consider to be both Legends and Canon).
The Best Star Wars Canon Comics
The High Republic Adventures (2020)
The High Republic Phase 1 had some excellent comic series. There were two main runs: The High Republic (2020) from Marvel and The High Republic Adventures (2020) from IDW. Both are excellent and worth your time, but, surprisingly, we are going to recommend this one, which is an all-ages comic.
The series follows a group of padawans who are adventuring with Master Yoda when the Great Disaster flips their world upside down. The series spans 13 issues (plus a few specials), and writer Daniel José Older does an incredible job of presenting these characters in a way that will resonate with both younger readers as well as adult readers.
The series tells a complete story, but is essentially capped off with the YA novel Midnight Horizon. For more information on reading in this era, we recommend checking out our host of resources on The High Republic HQ.
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron is an excellent series by writer Charles Soule and artists Phil Noto and Angel Unzueta. The comic book is well-loved by fans, but having come out back in 2016, it feels like it no longer gets the attention it deserves.
The majority of the story takes place before The Force Awakens, and introduces us to Poe and Black Squadron. It examines an interesting time in the conflict with the First Order that is much more similar to a cold war than an outright conflict. Other highlights in the series are Leia as the General of the Resistance as well as Black Squadron members Snap Wexley and Karé Kun.
The series is entirely standalone and requires no real outside reading to enjoy the story. The Aftermath trilogy of novels is a good lead-in but is in no way necessary. In addition, after you read the comic series, Resistance Reborn is an excellent follow-up. Since the series concluded in 2018, fans have been clamoring for an omnibus collection. Although it is readily available via other means, hopefully we will get the ultimate collection soon.
The High Republic: Trail of Shadows
The High Republic: Trail of Shadows is our first miniseries on the list, and it is our second High Republic recommendation. This is also in Phase 1 and bridges the gap between The Rising Storm and The Fallen Star. Daniel José Older crafted this noir mystery that pairs the unlikely duo of Jedi Emerick Caphtor and private investigator Sian Holt.
If you happen to be reading the adult novels of The High Republic but have yet to touch the comic books, this might be my top recommendation. It is only five issues long and ties into the books very directly. You can easily get the miniseries in a single trade paperback if physical reading is your preference. Outside of Eye of the Storm, it seems to be one of the most consequential comics in the grand scheme of The High Republic initiative.
Doctor Aphra (2020)
The original Doctor Aphra series from 2016 found its way into our Foundational Five, and the new series by Alyssa Wong is just as strong. The Run picks up after The Empire Strikes Back and, if it were possible, takes the character on even more insane adventures.
This series builds out a stronger supporting cast than the original run and is easily the standout example of representation and diversity in Star Wars storytelling. Despite being more of an ensemble at times, each individual is well-developed and gets their time to shine.
Even if you haven’t read the original series, you should be able to pick this one up just fine. The reading gets a bit complicated once you get to War of the Bounty Hunters, but we have a very in depth guide on how to navigate that event.
The Best Star Wars Legends Comics
Star Wars (1998) / Republic
One of the longest runs ever in Star Wars comics, this series tells an anthologized story across the Prequel Era (with Quinlan Vos becoming a large focal point). With 83 issues (sort of), it contains a number of iconic comic book arcs.
The series is somewhat confusingly named. It starts out titled Star Wars, but then switches to Star Wars: Republic at issue 46. To make things more confusing, the series flips to Star Wars: Dark Times at issue 84 but has two numbering systems: one that continues with 84 and one that resets at 1. We are going to ignore Dark Times, but all you need to know is that issues 81-83 are the conclusion to the Republic story and that you could potentially skip 79 and 80 as they are the leads into Dark Times, which are completely unrelated.
The series was over the course of seven years, and it is incredibly interesting to see shifts over time in art styles, storytelling, and also the understanding of the Star Wars galaxy as more prequel movies were released. Not all of it has aged well. Although I think reading it all is a great experience, for those who find the beginning is not clicking with them, try jumping to issue 19. That is where it starts to pick-up for a lot of readers, and the overall series isn’t dependent on the first 18 issues.
Tales of the Jedi
Not to be confused with the animated short series that came out in 2022, Tales of the Jedi is a comic from the early 1990s that predates Knights of the Old Republic in the timeline. It is so incredibly removed from everything else that the galaxy may look a bit alien to some.
Tales of the Jedi is stacked with popular Legends characters such as Exar Kun, Nomi Sunrider, Ulic Qel-Droma, and Naga Sadow. The title of the series changes every few issues, so be sure to look at our series detail page to help stay on track. The final story, Redemption, is one of the best capstone stories in Star Wars. What it lacks in the iconic art style found throughout the rest of the series, it makes up for in masterful storytelling and emotional payoff.
This book may not be for everyone, since it definitely feels a bit dated at times, but I would urge readers to try and stick with it because it will pay off in the end.
Knights of the Old Republic
There are few tentpole novels from the Dark Horse era, and Knights of the Old Republic would definitely be considered one of them. This series by John Jackson Miller runs for 50 issues and follows Jedi Zayne Carrick around the time of Revan and Malak. Although it takes place close to the game, it isn’t necessary to play the game to understand the comic.
It takes place nearly 4000 years before the events of the films, and this separation in time allows for the story to go in new and interesting directions. There is a reason the era is so beloved by fans, and, just like the games, I would recommend that anyone and everyone should give the comic a shot.
Legacy
Another tentpole of the Dark Horse era, Legacy is the furthest forward exploration of the Legends timeline at 130 ABY. It is another 50 issue run, this time from the dynamic duo of John Ostrander and Jan Duursema.
Legacy follows the story of Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke. Similarly to some of the other suggestions on the Legends list, the world looks very different from what we know of the Star Wars galaxy. The Jedi Order is mostly gone, and Darth Krayt is vying for control with his One Sith. The story sort of throws you in with little context, but you will become more familiar with the world as you continue on.
There are some cool ties to Star Wars (1998) / Republic for those who read it, but it is not at all necessary to understand this one. Ostrander really is a force in Legends comic book writing, and this is one of his strongest contributions.
